Srinagar/Jammu: Polling for the by-elections in the 27–Budgam and 77–Nagrota Assembly Constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was successfully completed on Tuesday. The vacancies in these constituencies arose due to the resignation of Omar Abdullah, who was elected from two Assembly seats, and the death of Devender Singh Rana, respectively.
The Election Commission of India announced the bye-elections for these two Assembly Constituencies alongside the General Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, scheduled for October 6, 2025. The nomination process began on October 13, 2025, and the last date for withdrawal was October 24, 2025. Ultimately, there were 17 candidates contesting in the 27–Budgam Assembly Constituency and 10 candidates in the 77–Nagrota Assembly Constituency.
Since each ballot unit can accommodate only 15 candidates plus NOTA, two ballot units were used at each polling station in Budgam for the bye-election. The 27–Budgam Assembly Constituency had 1,26,025 registered electors, while the 77–Nagrota Assembly Constituency had 97,980 electors. To facilitate voters, a total of 173 polling stations were established in Budgam and 150 in Nagrota, all equipped with essential facilities.
In accordance with the Election Commission’s directives, 100% webcasting was conducted at all polling stations. Additionally, 24 special polling stations—19 in Jammu, 1 in Udhampur, and 4 in Delhi—were set up to allow Kashmiri migrant electors registered in the Budgam constituency to vote physically, as part of the scheme for voting by migrants.
Polling was held from 7 AM to 6 PM at all stations. As per initial data received by 7:30 PM, the voter turnout was 50.01% in Budgam and 74.82% in Nagrota.
A total of 157 votes were cast at the special polling stations, including 11 at Udhampur and 10 in Delhi, by Kashmiri migrants.
Notably, for the first time, the voter turnout data was recorded directly by Presiding Officers through a specially designed ‘Presiding Officer App’ as part of the Election Commission’s Integrated ECTNet platform. This innovation has minimized delays and errors in data transmission and compilation. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 14, 2025.
To ensure a smooth electoral process, the Election Commission deployed observers—including General, Police, and Expenditure observers—for both constituencies. Senior officers were also deputed to oversee the polling and counting at the special polling stations across the three locations.